1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to cable assemblies and more particularly in a prpeferred embodiment to cable assemblies for in-line connecting of cables to components having in-line plugs, the cable assemblies include female and male pin terminals locked in terminal connectors and plugs, respectively, in a novel manner to prevent the terminals from being forcefully removed.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Prior art assemblies include means for locking terminals in connector and plug housings. Structures in the housings such as resilient material locking fingers which snap into slots in the terminals have been used to hold the terminals in place, providing a primary means for retaining the terminals within the housing. Such an arrangement could not be expected to prevent forceful removal of the terminals from the housings since slightly higher than normal force upon the cables often would be sufficient to cause the pin terminals to deflect the fingers.
In addition to having slotted terminals and resilient material locking fingers for primary retention purposes, secondary locking means have also been used to provide an additional lock for keeping the terminals in place during handling and use. One such secondary locking means is described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,695,112 by Maston, et al. entitled "Printed Circuit Board, Edgeboard Connector Therefor" dated Sept. 22, 1987. There, the connector housing has been provided with a pair of sidewalls with an aperture in each for receiving one of a pair of collapsible nibs of a secondary lock bar. The lock bar includes a pair of collapsible nibs, the nibs being disposed at opposite ends of the lock bar.
Such a lock bar provides adequate secondary locking but the collapsible nibs, under some conditions such as during removal of the terminals, may be awkward to handle and reasonable care is required to prevent damaging the collapsible nibs.
To provide a locking bar suitbale for use as a secondary locking means, it is desirable to provide a bar that can readily be removed from the housing without damage to the housing, the terminals or the primary locking mechanism. Also it is desirable to provide a secondary locking means that can be manufactured with wider tolerances and less material than lock bars such as the one described in the Maston et al. application yet can add enhancing features to the overall performance of the cable assembly.
To obtain the above-mentioned desiderata, a search for various other means to enhance the locking characteristics of the secondary lock bars was initiated. This search resulted in the improved secondary locking devices of the present invention.